If you like a bit of quirky mysterious fun, then Flat White Fatality is going to tick the boxes!
Sage is passionate about coffee and building her business. Sage’s boyfriend Bax needs help with employee morale at his video game company.
The characters are all high maintenance with their own life story, a murder to solve and a series of events all keep adding to the confusion!
I felt that there was a lot going on, the readability wasn’t great for me, the flow of the storyline felt muddled.

My thanks to the publisher, NetGallery and the author for the opportunity to read this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Love this set of mysteries! Great characters and writing. Emmeline Duncan writes Portland so well, even though I don’t even like coffee!

Emmeline Duncan returns with a new entry in her Ground Rules Mystery series, Flat White Fatality!

Sage (our protagonist) goes through a lot in this book along with her boyfriend Bax. Sage offers her help to Bax and his videogame company. Bax organizes a employee team building exercise, to help build friendship and fun among his employees. But during the exercise, one of his employees is murdered and Sage becomes a suspect when the victim is found near her coffee cart. It's a murder, series of accidents for Bax's employees, along with sage trying to clear her name, solve the murder, and defend herself against competition.

The book has a variety of twists and turns that will keep readers reading.

The book also includes recipes and coffee tips. I've been a fan since her first book in the series, Fresh Brewed Murder. Coffee lovers, cozy mystery fans, and readers should definitely check out this series.

My thanks to NetGallery and Kensington Publishing for a digital copy of this book. I've really enjoyed reading A Ground Rules Mystery series and look forward to the next book!

Another adorable cozy mystery with our favorite coffee sling sleuth, Sage. I love these because they are so quintessentially PNW. If you know, you know. The quirkiness of the characters and the setting feels so authentic and just weird enough to be Portland all the way.

I’m not a fan of spoilers, so I won’t, but if you’re a fan of the series, pick this one up asap! The ending is extra special and gahhhhh! I can’t frickin’ wait for the next one! Such a good way to boost my serotonin. 4 ⭐️

P.S. the spiced orange cold brew recipe is legit fantastic

If you’re in the mood for a coffee-full cozy mystery, you may like this one! For me, it didn’t quite hit the spot - I wish I loved this one more. There is a rhythm to the writing I just couldn’t get into; there wasn’t really a flow. There are a lot of characters and perhaps I would have done better to have read the other books in the series first. However I still enjoyed reading the book, and if you like a cozy mystery with some goofy aspects you may like this one! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

The third installment of Duncan's coffee cart cozy mystery series was lackluster compared to the first two.

I love Sage. She's a great character and well developed. This book was scattered versus the first two in my opinion.

The amount of characters and who could have possibly committed the murder was a huge amount and most unnecessary.

I figured out partially who committed the murder prior to the reveal.

I have high hopes for a fourth book and a better storyline.

I'm so glad I continued with this series. I didn't love the second book as much as I did the first one, so I was a little hesitant to continue with the series. I sure am glad I did. This book had me laughing out loud from the start. I loved visualizing the duck onesies, they made this book. It kept me guessing until the very end. I'm so happy with how this series is progressing. If I had any suggestion it would be to read this book in the fall near Halloween. I read it with snow on the ground and still greatly enjoyed it, but I do think a crisp fall breeze would have put me right in the thick of the action.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Ground Rules Mystery series is quickly becoming one of my favorite new cozy mystery series! I am obsessed with all of the coffee references and recipes ☕️! I love how the story is progressing in Flat White Fatality (the third installment of the series) with Sage, Bax, Ground Rules Roastery and of course - the solving of murders. One of my favorite aspects of Emmeline Duncan’s books is how she tackles real world social issues - blending reality and fiction while sparking the need for change. I’m so excited to see where the story goes from here!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC in exchange for my hornet review.

3.5 Stars
Although part of a series, this was the first book by the author I have read, and it can be read as a stand-alone novel.
Pros: setting (first cozy mystery based in the Pacific NE region I've read), the eclectic mix of characters, and the love of all things coffee. 5 Stars for that. I liked the environmentally conscious characters, the blended family, and, for a non-gamer, I even appreciated the gaming aspect of the story.
Cons: not quite as mysterious as I would have liked (had a pretty good idea of the culprit early on) and the excessive exercise scenes. Just wasn't into that much discussion about biking and going to the gym, but if it's your thing, an easy 4.5 Star book.
Overall, a pretty good cozy murder mystery with enough potential and likeable qualities that I will pick up another one in the series.

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Sage Caplan joins the employees of her boyfriend's tech company on a scavenger hunt. Unfortunately they find a body inside Sage's Roastery. It is Robbie, one of Bax's employees known for her practical jokes. The more Sage learns about Robbie, the less she knows about her. Her Aussie accent - fake, and just about every story she told about herself was a lie as well. To keep herself or Bax from being arrested, she decides to search for the murderer. Meanwhile she and her partner are being harassed by their former boss in the coffee business, even to the point of posting negative reviews and threats. This series gets better with every book.

I enjoy this series. Love the setting. Great characters. Good story plot. I was able to figger out whodonit but hey it sure was fun getting all the clues. Ready for the next one! Thanks#netgalley and #Kensington for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

I enjoyed the premise of the book as the murder happened during a scavenger hunt. The characters are of a different generation than I am but that gave them a bit more reality than some of the generic stories. I liked seeing some of the setting of Portland as that made it more realistic. I did find that some of the characters were obvious and the ending was not a surprise.

cozy-mystery, coffee, Oregon, scavenger-hunt, friendship, videogames, series, costumes, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, small-business, coffee-shop, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, coffee-culture, lawyers, siblings****

The Ground Rules Roastery is nearly ready with its first brick-and-mortar store next to the video game production company Sasquatch. The scavenger hunt that is supposed to act as a teambuilding exercise starts out as fun. Until one of them is found murdered. Great characters and an interesting story line in this cozy set in Portland, Oregon.
I requested and received an EARC from Kensington Books/Kensington Cozies via NetGalley.

First I would like to say that I love all the covers! They are the cutest and fit the series amazingly.
To top off her coffee business, Sage is now helping out with her boyfriend Bax’s gaming company. Conveniently for Sage, it’s located next door to her Ground Rules Roastery. That makes it easy for her to pitch in with Bax’s employee team-building event. The plan is to boost morale with a scavenger hunt. And it seems to be going well—until Robbie, a programmer known for being a prankster, turns up dead in Sage’s roastery . . .
I love the theme and that she has two passions. The coffee sounds amazing and makes my mouth water. Video game production is another interesting career to learn about. This one has lots of twist and turns with a few side stories mixed in. Overall I really enjoyed and looking forward to the next adventure!
#FlatWhiteFatality #NetGalley

This was one cozy mystery that fell flat for me. I did like the characters and setting as I don’t think I’ve read a mystery with this setting before. However the mystery aspect of this one did not click with me.

This was another great installment of the Sage Caplin series. I love all the characters in this and eagerly await the next. I liked how this one focused on Bax's video game company, as each installment shines light on different parts of Sage's world.

This series has good substance. I love the Oregon setting and the cool, food cart and community vibe. These certainly have more depth than the average cozy mystery. Good plot and nice twist at the end.

Sage joins the Sasquatches on their scavenger hunt, now that she’s part of the work family. Dressed as ducks they head around town using clues to find the items needed to finish the race first. But no one was expecting to find one of the Sasquatches dead body along the way.

With Bad being a person of interest and the murder hitting a little too close to home, sage finds herself questioning how well she really knows the people she’s been working with while trying to solve the murder. Cans Sage clear Box before the detective decides he to arrest him? More importantly, can she do it without invoking the wrath of the killer?

Another solid entry in this caffeinated series. If you love coffee and mystery, this series is for you! It’s got a smart and lovable protagonist with a cute kitty and furry canine that will warm your heart along with the coffee.

This is the 3rd book in this series, but I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Sage is a good character, but parts of the story fell a bit flat for me.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book, I do enjoy the series.
#FlatWhiteFatality #NetGalley